Monster Path
by IronChainDragon
Summary: Wells didn't let Shara help Micah. He was found by someone else. He didn't change back from monster form. At least, not right away. MicahxRaven
1. The Golden Wooly

Dai: Yes, I like Rune Factory. Why not? Harvest Moon, plus fights. And Micah is adorable.

Tsukaimon: If she owned Rune Factory, MicahxRaven would be the official couple. So far, it isn't.

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The land of Norad is known for many things. It's magic, it's monsters, it's farms, the Native Dragons... and it's amnesiacs. Yes, it's amnesiacs. They come a dime a dozen around those parts. Especially Selphia.

Surprisingly, this story isn't set in Selphia, but is about an amnesiac anyway. This story takes place in Sharance.

It starts on a rainy night, with thunder and lightning... and a young Wooly falling from the sky. This Wooly was different from most. It had golden yellow fur, and an acorn cap, which had somehow not fallen off his head when he fell from the sky.

The force of his impact left a small crater in front of the mayor's house. The mayor of Sharance, Wells, was known for not liking monsters. So, when he saw the Wooly, he left him be, at least until his granddaughter, Shara, got a word in.

"Look, he's hurt!" Besides the rather nasty bump on his head, one of the Wooly's legs was twisted at an awkward angle. In a different timeline, he would have listened. In this one, however, he didn't.

"So? Shara, you don't know where that thing's been, or even if it's friendly."

"What could he do to me? He can't even walk."

"What would we do? We don't know anything about medicine, especially for monsters."

Despite the fact that it was true, Shara picked up the Wooly, intending to carry him inside.

"No, Shara."

"But we can't just leave him!"

"Yes, we can!"

Sighing, Shara put down the Wooly and followed Wells back inside. A few minutes later, a redhead girl who had gotten caught in the rain found him. Looking around to make sure no one could see, Raven picked up the Wooly and carried him away.

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Early spring was not, Raven reflected, the best time to stay out when it would rain. Which made her wonder what a Wooly was doing there. Monsters generally knew to stay out of the town, unless they were in the midst of traveling, and then they never stopped. Not to mention, they knew better than to travel while injured. Especially since they ran the risk of the clinic, nightmare to monsters and humans alike.

She thought of taking him to the clinic, but decided against exposing the poor creature to Marion. The shot happy young witch was well known for scaring away all the customers. Raven remembered well the last time someone had gone to the clinic while she was on duty. Poor thing had been scarred for life. Orcs. They just never learn. Besides, she doubted Marion knew how to fix a bad leg.

Opening the door to the house, she walked inside, not being greeted or anything.

"Gaius. You do realize sleep is good for you, right?"

"Oh, Raven. What time is it?"

"Ten in the afternoon."

Gaius noticed the Wooly. "Oh, found a friend, have you, Raven?"

"He's got a bad leg. I found him in the rain outside of Wells' house."

"Well, let's see what we can do for him."

A bit later, the Wooly was wrapped up in a tough blanket. Raven and Gaius went to bed, unaware of just how special their guest was.

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The next morning, the Wooly woke up at six by some strange instinct ordering him to. He was wrapped up in a tough blanket, and his leg hurt badly. It was bandaged, but poorly, and whoever was treating him obviously had no knowledge of medicine, besides the basics. Well, he appreciated the help, except...

"Okay, where am I?" It seemed to be a house, and the sound of hammers downstairs served to narrow the possibilities. Either way, he had no clue where he was. Or, for that matter, who he was, which he attributed to the bump on his head.

He tried to stand up, before collapsing in a flash of pain. Okay, so he couldn't just get up and walk around yet.

"Yeah... not my best idea." He was so distracted by the pain that he paid no attention to the sound of footsteps approaching.

"So, you're awake." He turned to see a girl with red hair and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" The girl was not surprised to hear the Wooly talk, despite the fact that talking monsters normally looked more human. Of course, she had a few secrets of her own.

"Raven."

"We'll, I'm..." Thinking fast, he quickly decided on something to call himself, "... Micah. Call me Micah."

Raven nodded and walked off, leaving Micah alone.

The golden Wooly leaned back, enjoying the morning. After all, he had to do something.

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Raven had gone out to do some shopping, as Gaius had the tendency to forget about little things like the fact that people need food to survive. Sometimes, she swore he lived off of his work. However, she, and likely Micah, were not so fortunate.

Of course, it might be her appetite. Those like her generally had high metabolisms due to the things that made them different. It probably didn't help that along the way she acquired a taste for birdseed, which wasn't the most filling.

Entering the general store, she bought enough food to last... hopefully. She also got birdseed for a light snack. No one ever questioned why she ate it, and she preferred it that way. Going into that would open up a whole other can of worms... Yum, worms.

Preventing her train of thought from getting even more derailed, she went over and found Karina sleeping at the register. Seems she was never lucky enough to be there when Hazel was at the register. Karina was known as the laziest girl in Sharance, and it certainly wasn't off the mark.

Sometimes, Raven would simply wait, or wake her up gently. However, she was working off of minimal sleep, had run out of food three days ago but never quite got to the store, instead living off of fish and worms. Mostly worms. Out of sight, of course. And, in all honesty, ringing the bell rapidly was probably better for Karina than if Raven torched the place.

As noticed, after rain, her temper got worse. Being caught out in it... just wasn't her thing. Either way, she had to hurry back. Even Gaius would get hungry after three days with only fish for food, and she had no clue when Micah last ate.

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Dai: So, basic differences in this timeline: Half-monsters gain more than just basic traits of the monster sides, but also certain dietary aspects (Raven, being a bird, likes to eat birdseed and worms, while Micah, a sheep, is a vegetarian). Also, a bit of the history between Sharance and the Univir will be revealed later, and is much more detailed. Raven also is less quick to discard her monster heritage, if only because, she likes to fly.


	2. The Bird

Dai: With different circumstances, time to see just how Micah fits in with Raven and Gaius.

Vee-Vee: Nothing owned here.

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Micah was hungry. He didn't know when he last ate, but it definitely couldn't have been recently. What he wouldn't give for a rice ball. Maybe some apple juice on the side... a few medicinal herbs... a bit of orange grass... He shook his head, as it probably wasn't happening.

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Aquaticus sighed. His plan had been fine. Send the boy to Sharance, remove his memories, let the monster loving flower obsessed girl do the rest. Of course, Wells didn't make it that easy.

Being a Native Dragon, while it had plenty of perks, had responsibilities to go with it. He envied Ventuswill, whose only purpose was to supply the land with Runes, and did so from a luxurious castle. Terrable only really had a handle on politics, and Fiersome... well, it was a while since he spoke with Fiersome. The last time was to ridicule him about being beaten by a child.

Still, his perfectly laid out plan wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. What he needed was for a someone to reunite the humans and univir, and Micah would have been the perfect option. There weren't that many of his kind around.

Well, there was that one girl, but she wasn't exactly hero material. He needed someone at least somewhat normal. Someone that didn't eat worms. Someone that could fit into a house. Still, she'd make a good last resort. At least the boy would be well taken care of.

And who knew? Maybe, just maybe, it would work out in the end.

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Raven arrived back at the house, nearly running into Collette, which wouldn't have been good. Collette and Raven hadn't gotten along well since she beat her at an eating contest. One would think that the grocery bill she ran up would have been an indicator of her appetite.

It was really a good thing the contest wasn't publicized. She didn't need the attention. No one needed to know about the things that allowed her to eat twenty chocolate cakes and shoot magical fire from her hands. No, no one needed to know about that.

They didn't even know about the fire. Really, the only thing she used it for was lighting the forge on the rare occasion it was allowed to die. She swore, Gaius was addicted to his work. As evidence when she opened the door and saw him working.

"Did you check up on Micah?"

"Micah?"  
"The Wooly."

"Oh, him. Well, he told me he was hungry."

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Micah smelled food. Turning, he saw Raven come up with a lot of food. Enough to last a month, in most households. However, this wasn't most households.

"So, what do you want?"

"Have any rice balls?"

"Rice balls?"

"Yeah, I like rice balls."

"Really? I've never seen a Wooly eat a rice ball."

"I'm fairly certain most humans don't eat birdseed." He gestured to the half empty package in her hand.

"That's just... it's an acquired taste."

"Right. So, rice ball?"

"Here."

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Raven was in shock. Micah had an appetite similar to hers, if not worse. So many salads, down the drain. She made a mental note to ask the DeSainte-Coquilles to send in an order for tofu. With this monster being able to out eat her, it would be very useful. Besides, Sofia owed her a favor.

She sat down and munched on some birdseed. Micah had finished his eleventh rice ball, and just kept on going. She made a mental note to go foraging so they wouldn't run out of Gold. It might have helped if Gaius could actually be bothered to tend the shop every once in a while. Made her wonder what would happen if she ever moved.

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Micah finally finished eating and leaned back. Raven had left a little ago to mind the store, and he was left alone again. This allowed him to think.

He didn't know who he was. While it could be explained away, it was still odd. Also, there was a feeling in the back of his head that he wasn't just an ordinary Wooly. After all, most Woolies didn't have golden fur and acorn caps. At least, he didn't think so. Ah, amnesia. The bane of many, many Norad residents.

Honestly, there's Raguna of Trampoli, Kyle of Alvarna, and the Selphia amnesiacs, Lest, Frey, Amber, Dylas, and Dolce. Well, okay, the Selphia ones weren't amnesiacs right at that moment, but still, and those are only the ones known about.

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That night, Raven slipped out her door and to the stair, when she was stopped by a voice.

"Raven?"

"Yes, Micah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm... going out. For a walk."

"Alright, then."

When Micah laid back, before he fell asleep, a dark shape swooped away from the house, right outside his window. The bird flew away into the night, at the very edge of the monster's vision.

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The next morning, Micah and Raven gulped down their food. Micah, due to extreme healing effects of medicinal herbs, would likely be able to leave by the end of the week. Still, he didn't want to leave, not really. He had just been here for a day and Raven and Gaius seemed like family. A very dysfunctional, strange, screwy family.

"You know, last night I saw something strange."

"Oh?" Raven was cautious. Had he seen...?  
"Yeah, there was a giant bird, just flying away. It was amazing."

"Oh, that. That bird shows up from time to time. No one really knows what it is or where it comes from." Except Raven and Gaius, but that was a secret they weren't ready to tell.

"Oh. What do you think?"

"Well, she probably lives somewhere around here."

"How do you know it's a female, Raven?"

"Just... It doesn't matter. Really, it doesn't."

Of course, it actually did. Just not right that second. Besides, who would believe her anyway?

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Dai: Alright, so, now the hard part is moving Micah to the Sharance Tree... Well, maybe...

Verity: Trust me, she isn't always like this. Really.


	3. The Forest

Daichi: Now, back to the adventures of our favorite half-monster duo!

Vee-Vee: Don't own the things here, they belong to someone else.

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It had been a week since Micah had come to stay with Raven and Gaius, and already she was sorry that she'd have to see him go. His leg was basically healed, so she was going to take him to Privera so he could meet other Woolies that she had befriended. Runic imbalances meant that she couldn't stay around them too long without a Gate appearing, but she felt it would be fine.

Oh, how wrong she was.

Upon arriving at the forest's edge, Raven and Micah were swamped by little white fuzzy things. They were Raven's monster friends, who she had met when she was young. They had actually been the ones to lead her to Sharance.

"It's Raven, it's Raven!" They bleated in unison. Most humans would be unable to understand their language, but Raven was far from ordinary.

"Daisy, Fluffy, Hareta, get off!" A slight bit of fire knocked them away, but not enough to hurt them badly.

"But Raven, it's been months since you visited!" Daisy complained, the red flower she kept in her head wool seeming to droop with her.

"Yeah, you're never here!" Fluffy stated, his voice muffled by his unusually thick wool. For fun, Hareta and Daisy had sheared it once, but it was grown back when Raven visited a week later.

The third Wooly, Hareta, said nothing, just pouted. Those three had had several chances to return to the Forest, but decided that they liked living in Norad. Raven felt guilty for leaving them, but it would be better that way. Spending time around normal monsters led to Gates opening between the worlds, and hostile monsters could attack. More than that, if she tried to get help, she'd have to reveal her greatest secret. Sometimes there was no right answer.

Still, she couldn't keep Micah around forever, so it would be good for him to have friends that were also monsters.

All further attempts to justify her decision were cut off by the sound of a Gate appearing. This sounded like a big one. They were in trouble.

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It wasn't like this was the first time something like this happened. A few weeks ago, there were a lot of large Gates around. Fortunately, those faded without any need for interference. Still, it wasn't a good thing. If curious monsters found it, or a human was engulfed after destroying it, there could be grave ramifications.

"Raven, I don't feel good," Daisy whimpered. Micah's ears lifted.

"What's that?"

So many monsters. Chimaera, mainly, although there were some Palmcats and wolves in the mix. They were confused for approximately five seconds. If they hoped for a fight, that was two seconds too many, as Raven had already turned and was leading the Woolies away from the forest.

"Where are we running?" Hareta asked. And it was a good question, given that the direction they were running in was a dead end. Still, it wasn't like there was much of a choice if she wanted to keep her secrets secret. Nobody but Gaius knew where she came from, and she hadn't even told the Woolies how she came to have such a thorough mastery of fire magic.

Either way, as they reached the flower fields and the cliff, Raven quickly realized that the Chimaera were following them, and she had no idea what to do. This was why she didn't come back to the forest. As long as she was around them, monsters could come and go from the Forest of Beginnings as they pleased. One of several reasons some believed her cursed. The other being, well...

Micah let out a cry as one of the wild monsters unleashed a powerful attack, leaving him quite singed. Backed against a cliff, no weapon, there was only one way. She didn't really like it, but it was her only chance for survival. It had been a few days since she'd stretched her wings.

Feathers sprouted on every surface of her body, her mouth and nose merged into a beak, and her feet turned into talons. Soon, instead of a visibly human girl, there was a giant bird the color of flames.

She was Raven, the half-phoenix. And those that harmed her friends were going to burn.

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The cliff was normally a fantastic spot for picnics. One could hardly say that now, though. Sure, there were still living flowers, but a number of them had been reduced to ash in the tumultuous battle. Raven was whirling and diving and shooting fire from her wings. The Woolies were in shock at the fact that their human friend had just turned into a bird, but at least they were likely to survive and stay in Sharance.

Returning monsters to the Forest of Beginnings is easier than it sounds. All it takes is for the will of the attacker to overcome the will of the defending monster, forcing them to give up and go home. As it turns out, even Chimaera have issues with giant fireballs flying at their faces.

After the last one figuratively ran off with their tail between their legs, Raven landed and resumed her original form. Fluffy was the first to react.

"So, Raven, when did you plan on telling us you're part bird?"

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Daichi: So, this happened. And get used to Daisy, Fluffy, and Hareta, because they'll be appearing quite a bit.


	4. The Girl

Daichi: So this is something I probably should have done earlier.

Verity: We don't own these things.

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"So, Raven, when were you planning on telling us you were part bird?" Telling them? Why would she do that?

"I... wasn't." She hadn't intended for them to ever see her other form. It just wasn't something she felt they'd needed to know about. She'd hoped they'd never need to know. "I never wanted anyone to know... that I was half monster." There had been a time when people had known. She just chose not to remember it.

"Why not?" Hareta asked.

"Because... most monsters don't like humans... and most humans don't like monsters." She stepped back, fear suddenly welling up. It'd slip out, these three were terrible at keeping secrets, and she'd have to leave again. She supposed it was too much to hope for. She clenched her fists, magic swelling. She didn't dare look at any of their faces.

Suddenly, a cry came out from the nearby dungeon. She forced herself to move in that direction, to avoid thinking of what might soon happen.

She didn't want to leave.

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Micah's leg hurt. Today had meant to be light exercise, but he ended up constantly running, for one reason or another. He hoped that this wouldn't have any serious negative repercussions. It would be difficult to figure out why he was there if he couldn't move.

He didn't know why, but he felt that he couldn't let himself stop. Something was pulling him in that direction. He needed a way to move faster.

He couldn't. His legs just weren't long enough. He still wouldn't give up. He didn't know if he could forgive himself if he did.

Raven had vanished from his sight. There was a spear lying at the edge of the path, in the hands of a human it could do something to whatever was just out of sight.

Something swelled up within him. He knew what he had to do.

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Shara was backed into a corner. Raven could see that. The attacker was in the air, forcing her to ask herself an important question. Would she transform, and risk being found out even earlier, or try and struggle with what she had available? She didn't know the answer.

Fortunately, she didn't have to.

The spear hit it's target, forcing the large insect to the ground. A stream of fire finished the job easily enough. Raven turned, to see just who had saved her casual acquaintance.

He was about their age, with golden hair, and, even from a distance, she could still see the striking blue of his eyes. It was familiar. She didn't even have to voice her suspicions, however.

"Who are you?" Shara asked. His grin was what confirmed it for her. What were the odds, she wondered, that they would encounter each other?

"My name is Micah." He picked up the spear. Raven quietly wondered just where he had found it, and how. She certainly hadn't seen one along the way, although she hadn't exactly been concentrating on her surroundings at the time.

"Well, Micah, I'm Shara, and this is-"

"We've met." She knew that Shara could talk forever if she wanted to. The best thing to do was to cut her off right there.

"You have? I haven't met him before, where is he from?" And now she had to explain this.

"He doesn't exactly remember. So, he's staying in the area for the time being." It was all technically true, so she didn't have to worry about being caught in another lie.

"Really? Where?"

"We... haven't exactly figured that out yet," Micah admitted. "Raven's been nice enough to let me stay with her for a while, but it's not a very good permanent solution."

"I know! You could stay at the Sharance Tree!"

"Shara... you'd be giving him control of the community farm. You don't even know him."

"You do." Raven glanced at where the half-Wooly was fiddling with his new weapon, and wondered what she really knew about him. Up until five minutes ago, she'd thought he was just a normal monster.

Up until fifteen minutes ago, he'd thought she was entirely human. Raven realized that neither of them knew much about the other.

"You'd have to convince your grandfather."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine! At least, I hope so. He'd probably be more open to helping a human, anyway." Raven suddenly realized that she had found Micah in front of Wells' house. She suddenly felt even less sure of her chances to stay in this town. "I'll go ask!"

The two of them watched Shara walk away before she turned to Micah. "So, Micah, when did you plan on mentioning the fact that you're half human?"

"To be fair, this was news to me, too. Also, do you think I can keep this spear?"

"Whoever the previous owner was, they're probably long gone. I'd be more concerned with the fact that Shara just asked you to permanently move here."

"Why would that be a problem?"

"It increases our chances that someone will find out, and I'd rather not get run out of another town. I'm not even sure if it's safe to stay here, because while I love those three to death, they can not keep a secret to save their lives. We can't keep watch on them all the time... unless..." Her mind fixated on an idea. It wasn't the best idea, but it could still work.

"Unless what?"

"I have an idea. But I need Gold, Lumber, and land."

"Well, I was just offered control of the community farm, as you put it..." Yes, this would work out perfectly.

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Daichi: And that is why this version of Micah lives in the Sharance Tree. As for the spear... I've been playing Etrian Odyssey: Untold lately.


End file.
